lo Feb., 1909.] Diseases of Farm Animals. 103 



■only when the rye heads are attacked by the Clavicufs purpurea fungus 

 suggests the speculation. Or, it may be that macrozamia is only poisonous 

 at certain seasons of the year or in certain stages of growth, as is un- 

 doubtedly the case with the sorghum family, thistles, &c. 



Tutu or " Toot " Poisoning in New Zealand, ^ 



Of the poisonous plants of New Zealand none have caused so much 

 loss to the agriculturist as the shrub known as " tutu,"^ and it is stated 

 that the existence of the shrub on the coast was one of the most for- 

 midable obstacles to the stocking of the country with cattle and sheep.^ 

 The animals brought by Captain Cook died in what to him was a most 

 unaccountable manner, but the general description of the symptoms re- 

 corded by him leaves little doubt that they died of toot poisoning (Lauder 

 Lindsay). In 1863 Lindsay states that the stock losses from this cause 

 reached 25 per cent. Many deaths of human beings from eating tutu 

 berries have also been recorded, and domestic fowls have also been 

 poisoned in the same way. 



There are two poisonous varieties of tutu, the " tree toot" {Coriaria 

 mscifolia) reaches a height of 20 or 25 feet, and the "ground toot" 

 (C thymifolia) a succulent shrub seldom exceeding 3 feet in height. 

 The poisonous principle in each of the species is a crystal lizable gluco- 

 cide called " tutin " which exists in the plant in the proportion of one- 

 twentieth per cent, by weight. It ranks among the most toxic of the 

 vegetable poisons. Two grains will kill a pig, a twentieth of a grain a 

 cat, and one -hundredth of a grain causes sickness and incapacity for 

 twenty-four hours in a full grown man. 



The SYMPTOMS exhibited in animals affected by tutu-poisoning are 

 successively : — uneasiness, accelerated breathing, nausea, vomiting, tetanic 

 spasms and convulsions accompanied by snoring breathing ; the convulsive 

 attacks last about a quarter of an hour and recur at intervals of about 

 an hour at first. Later on the interval is lessened and the attacks are 

 almost continuous. Death takes place within a few hours. 



Antidote. — Lime and other alkalies have the property of neutralizing 

 tutin and these would appear to be the rational antidotes to apply. 

 Lindsay mentions that one of the antidotes used with good effect on sheep 

 is carbonate of ammonia which in addition to antagonizing the poison 

 also acts as a stimulant. The dose for a sheep under such circumstances 

 would be from a quarter to half an ounce dissolved in cold watei and 

 given as a drench. Bleeding has also been recommended as one of the 

 .most certain and rapid methods of affording relief. 



Euphorbia Drummondii. 



For many years this plant commonly known as " Milkweed " was 

 'generally credited with poisonous properties. Mr. Edward Stanley 

 F.R.C.V.S., late Chief Veterinary Inspector in New South Wales, under- 

 took an investigation of the matter and as the tradition as to its poisonous 



". The info'raation given in this article is compiled from a pai er by Professor Kasterfleld and B. O. 

 Astcn, Chemist 'o the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, publisVed in thf- 19C0 Annual Repott. 



• The Maori pronuncia'ion of the word tutu is not unlike " t' ot " ; by Europeans it is invariably 

 so pronounced, :in<1 stock suffrring from tutu-poisoning are said to be "tooted." 



a The mnrtalitv from tulu-posoning still coniiuues, and in Auyust, 1904, heavy losses were rejirrted 

 from the Waikato district. Forty-three bull cks stniyed from a turniii paddock on to some rough 

 -country thickly grown with tutu ; next morning forty-two of them were found dead, and there was 

 ample evidence of thtir having eaten freely i,f the young shoots of tutu. 



